Martial Peak

The war in Twin Poles Territory was at a stalemate.

Around 300 years ago, the Black Ink Clan was in a disadvantageous position in Profound Nether Territory, and many of their Territory Lords were killed. Although they arrived at a peace deal with the Humans later, that didn’t mean those fallen Territory Lords returned from the grave.

As though trying to boost their morale and restore their dignity, the Black Ink Clan had intensified their offensives in several Great Territories, and the one where they were the most aggressive was Twin Poles Territory.

Apparently, the Black Ink Clan had made this Great Territory their primary target. Over the years, they had been continuously sending more soldiers here in an effort to use their advantage in numbers to suppress the Humans.

In the past, if the Humans were faced with attacks of such intensity, they would have lost Twin Poles Territory to the enemy already. Nevertheless, with the continuous production of Evil Purging Divine Spears over the years, the Humans were not without the means to resist.

After the Evil Purging Divine Spears were crafted by the Artifact Refiners, the Divine Spirits who were able to use the Great Sun and Moon Marks would seal Purifying Light into them. Then, the Evil Purging Divine Spears would be distributed to the Human Masters who would put them to good use on the battlefields.

For this reason, half of the Evil Purging Divine Spears originally allocated to Profound Nether Territory had been diverted to Twin Poles Territory.

In any case, the Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory wouldn’t dare to make a move; as such, those in Profound Nether Territory didn’t need as many Evil Purging Divine Spears as those in the other Great Territories.

In every great battle, the things that shone the brightest were the Evil Purging Divine Spears when they exploded. These miniature Suns lit up the endless darkness and helped the Humans persevere in battle.

When Yang Kai arrived at Twin Poles Territory, the two Races were already locked in an intense battle. The innumerable Black Ink Clan soldiers hovered in the void, as though trying to announce to the Humans that they were the owners of this place. On the other hand, the Humans could only use the fortresses they had built over the years to fend off the enemies.

The Humans in Twin Poles Territory were no longer able to confront the Black Ink Clan in the open, but even the strongest defence would be broken through one day if it was constantly under assault.

On the battlefield, Human Warships moved around in a narrow range and rained down Secret Techniques and artifact strikes on the enemy. At the same time, the Eighth-Order Masters were soaked in blood as they fought back against the Territory Lords.

Yang Kai concealed his aura and flew towards the battlefield like a phantom.

He didn’t have a particular target in mind, for he didn’t know any of these Territory Lords in Twin Poles Territory. As such, it made no difference as to whom he would kill first.

Since he had cultivated in seclusion for 300 years, he hadn’t used his Azure Dragon Spear for a long time. It was time he let these Black Ink Clansmen know what it felt like to be overwhelmed by fear.

Somewhere on the battlefield, an Eighth-Order Master was in a perilous situation as he was dealing with two enemies at once.

The Eighth-Order Masters were used to such situations by now, and despite being in a tight spot, this one was able to persevere for now. Furthermore, he still hadn’t used his Evil Purging Divine Spears. For this reason, the Territory Lords remained somewhat wary and didn’t dare to go all out, preferring to keep some distance and wear down their opponent.

During the intense battle, World Force and Black Ink Strength clashed as the void trembled. The Black Ink Clansmen who didn’t manage to dodge were either killed or injured by the fallout from this clash.

At this moment, the Eighth-Order Master was focused on dealing with the Territory Lords. He pondered on the feasibility of severely injuring one Territory Lord despite knowing that he would be wounded as well.

When Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords traded injuries, there was no doubt the Humans gained the advantage.

That was because when an Eighth-Order Master was wounded, they could recuperate by consuming Spirit Pills and meditate to restore their strength. However, a Territory Lord couldn’t do that. They could endure the pain if it wasn’t severe, but if a Territory Lord was badly injured, they had to return to a Black Ink Nest and hibernate to heal.

There were not many Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests in Twin Poles Territory, and all of them were currently occupied by wounded Territory Lords. If more Territory Lords were injured, they had to head to the No-Return Pass where there were more Mid-Rank Black Ink Nests, as well as some 100 High-Rank Black Ink Nests.

Over the years, more and more wounded Territory Lords headed to the No-Return Pass to recuperate. On the other hand, the Territory Lords who had recovered would return from the No-Return Pass.

It was by using such mutually damaging tactics that the Eighth-Order Masters effectively limited the number of Territory Lords who took part in the war.

If all the Territory Lords could join the fighting, there was no way the Eighth-Order Masters could fend them off. They would have to give up at least three Great Territories to rally their forces together.

However, once they did that, the Black Ink Clan could also concentrate their forces to regain the upper hand. That was the reason the Humans were not willing to lose any Great Territory.

This Eighth-Order Master soon made up his mind as was preparing to expose an opening at the right moment so that one of the Territory Lords would make a move. He was putting his life on the line, but as long as he didn’t die, he would be able to achieve his goal.

Nonetheless, before he could do anything, a Divine Sense transmission suddenly reached his ear. He was startled for a moment before becoming elated.

Although he never showed a chance of expression on his face, he secretly got prepared.

A few breaths of time later, he bellowed, “Bastards, let’s all go to Hell together!”

Following that, an Evil Purging Divine Spear appeared and turned into a light beam that shot towards one of the Territory Lords. The Eighth-Order Master seemed determined to destroy the other party no matter the cost.

The two Territory Lords were fully prepared, however; as such, they immediately surged their Black Ink Strength and formed a thick Black Ink Cloud in front of them.

This was the method the Territory Lords had come up with to deal with the Evil Purging Divine Spears.

Purifying Light was indeed the archnemesis of Black Ink Strength, and once an Evil Purging Divine Spear was sent out, a Territory Lord would find it hard to dodge regardless of how agile they were.

Since that was the case, their best option was to release a lot of Black Ink Strength to block and offset the Purifying Light’s power.

The instant the light exploded, the Eighth-Order Master and the Territory Lords were temporarily blinded.

However, the battle intensified at that moment.

Just as both parties believed they were on the winning side, fatal moves were cast all of a sudden.

The thick Black Ink Strength was dispersed in the blink of an eye. One of the Territory Lords, who was targeted by the Evil Purging Divine Spear, grunted as his aura plunged.

On the other hand, the unaffected Territory Lord extended his hand towards the white light. Enduring the scorching heat, he sent his attack towards the Eighth-Order Master.

Both parties were in close quarters. Since the Eighth-Order Master had just used an Evil Purging Divine Spear, there was no way he could dodge this attack. The Territory Lord could already imagine the Human spraying out a mouthful of blood.

However, just then, a flash of Spiritual Energy could be felt from nearby. Following that, the attacking Territory Lord felt like something had pierced into his head. The sharp pain in his mind made him lose focus for a moment and his Black Ink Strength faltered.ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴovᴇl(ꜰ)ir(e).nᴇt

His hand froze as an excruciating pain suddenly came from his chest.

When he looked down, he saw a spear penetrating through him. A violent force burst forth as his burly figure exploded into countless pieces, which then spread out across the void.

These two Territory Lords had been guarding against the Eighth-Order Master using the Evil Purging Divine Spear; as such, neither of them would have expected that someone would use a Soul attack on them at that moment. The Territory Lord lost his life while completely unsuspecting.

As the blood-spattered, Yang Kai hovered in the void with his spear in his hand and arched his brow.

After his most recent seclusion ended, it seemed it had become easier for him to kill a Territory Lord.

He couldn’t help thinking that an Open Heaven Realm Master, especially a High-Rank one, indeed had to cultivate for a long time to build up their heritage.

Over the past 300 years, Yang Kai had consumed an enormous amount of resources to strengthen his World Force. With the purifying effects of the World Tree clone in his Small Universe, he estimated that he was now 10% stronger than before he entered seclusion.

It was said that old ginger was spicier, and this seemed especially true for Open Heaven Realm Masters.

Now, Yang Kai wasn’t someone who had just ascended to the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm, he could be considered an experienced Master.

Besides the increase in heritage, he also had to literally tear his Soul in half to cultivate his Human Self. This kind of tearing was unlike activating a Soul Rending Thorn where Yang Kai would only sacrifice a small portion of his Soul. 

For this reason, he became weak for the past 300 years.

It was only thanks to the Soul Warming Lotus’ help that he gradually recovered.

With that said, the improvement this time was conspicuous. Before, whenever Yang Kai activated a Soul Rending Thorn, he would feel a sharp pain in his head, which he could somewhat endure thanks to many repeated experiences.

However, when he used a Soul Rending Thorn today, the pain he felt was less aggravating.

It went to show that his Soul had strengthened.

Many thoughts flashed across Yang Kai’s mind as the pieces of the dead Territory Lord floated past him.

On the other hand, the Eighth-Order Master, who received the warning from Yang Kai earlier, forcefully struck out at the Territory Lord who had been affected by the Evil Purging Divine Spear.

The turn of events had stunned the Territory Lord as he had no idea why his companion was killed all of a sudden. While in a dazed state, he turned to stare at Yang Kai.

According to their original plan, he would get hit by the Evil Purging Divine Spear and offset the Purifying Light with the gathered Black Ink Strength from earlier on. Then, he would join forces with his unaffected companion. He was confident that they could injure or even kill this Eighth-Order Master.

Nonetheless, his companion was killed in the blink of an eye.

Following that, he saw a spear-holding young man with a dispassionate expression standing beside him.

He found the young man familiar, as though he had seen him before.

“Yang Kai!” After a moment of pondering, he finally recalled where he had come across this young man before.

This guy was Yang Kai, the one who had managed to completely suppress the Territory Lords in Profound Nether Territory. He was also the one who had kicked up a storm in the No-Return Pass and even escaped from the Royal Lord’s pursuit.

All the Black Ink Clan’s top Masters had seen Yang Kai’s image before.

It was rumoured that this Human had some mysterious method he could use to kill Innate Territory Lords in an instant.

Some 30 Territory Lords were directly or indirectly killed by him in Profound Nether Territory within just 30 years. The Royal Lord was so enraged by this that he had repeatedly reprimanded Six Arms who was in charge of that place.

Left with no other choice, the Black Ink Clansmen in Profound Nether Territory were forced to accept a peace deal Yang Kai had come up with. As such, the Territory Lords there couldn’t have a hand in the war.

When word got out, the Black Ink Clan Masters in the other Great Territories were both shocked and doubtful. Many of them felt that their comrades in Profound Nether Territory were exaggerating Yang Kai’s abilities. This Human was only in the Eighth Order, after all; therefore, how was he supposed to suppress all the Black Ink Clan Masters in Profound Nether Territory on his own? Even Xiang Shan was unable to achieve that.

This Territory Lord had thought much the same, feeling that Six Arms and the others in Profound Nether Territory were too weak and had simply let Yang Kai run rampant. If this Yang Kai had the guts to come to Twin Poles Territory, he would certainly teach this arrogant Human a lesson.

Now, Yang Kai had really come, and it wasn’t until this moment that the Territory Lord realised how naïve he had been. It was said that Yang Kai was able to cow and intimidate all the Black Ink Clan Masters of an entire Great Territory on his own. Even if there was a bit of exaggeration, there was no denying Yang Kai was powerful, but up until now, the Territory Lord still had no idea how his companion was killed.

There wasn’t any time left for him to ponder though. While he was still in a daze, the Eighth-Order Master struck him with his fist. As the violent World Force exploded, an indent formed on the Territory Lord’s chest, which caused him to spray out a mouthful of black blood.